Rachel Writes

Artists Soj and Lyd We've been watching lots of My Little Pony via youtube. Anyways, it's nice. Lots of colors and sunshine and ponies who are best friends. It's a nice trip to the land of Equestria where Friendship is Magic!

Micah starts the basketball season in a few weeks. I am hopeful that he will be energized through coaching and that the girls will have an awesome season. I was reminded of the upcoming season at our last date night. Micah was lining up knives, forks, and straws on the table, devising a drill. To be fair, it was for phys ed class, but athletic strategy is never far from Micah's mind. I hope our kids get the blessing of the Stevenson court savy. I'm still often a few seconds behind when playing pick-up basketball. But that doesn't stop me from trying! It's a blessing to play and coach sports. 3 cheers!

Lydia and Soj, Best Friends Whit, Tad, and our beautiful Jacque I post today as a testimony that we are doing well. And that we are doing good! For those who haven't heard the story, the three kids and I were held up  (at gun point *wince*) by some robbers (known to the kids as "the bad guys"). God spared us! They ran when I screamed to high heavens and our neighbors came out. That's right-- it was in my own neighborhood. Right outside my house! But God is bigger. We are getting lots of care and help. Enjoy the pictures of the kids! Love to you all.

Lollipop light sticks! Ingenius candy First toy So, it's not the deepest pool... but according to the kids it's great fun  Quick note: going to the government office was an awesome experience!(see last post) In and out in under 2 hours. What a pleasant surprise. The kind Philippine officials fast tracked me since I had Thaddeus along. Very considerate! And I got to chat with a Philippine sailor who needed to get some papers. He told me some interesting sailing stories (Wels would have enjoyed meeting him!). I'm thankful for how that morning went.

Tomorrow (Friday) I am spending the day at the National Statistic Office to get Thaddeus's Philippine birth certificate. You can pray for me. It usually makes for a long day as hundreds of people come to the office to get their paperwork completed. Taddy will be with me, of course, since he'll need to eat. Pray that it won't be very hot! Whitaker continues to be having very difficult days. I'm trying to take it in stride, but it has been emotionally taxing. Blessings to you. The reason I am willing to sit for 4 hours in a hot waiting room

This is a serious  hug. Whit and Soj love each other. That said-- someone bit someone else today. Well, I'll just come out and say it. Whit's been hurting Sojo lately! (Whit, if you read this later in life-- I still love you! You're not going to do this forever, by the grace of God). Aww, man. I love this little boy. Why is he trying to hurt Sister? So, a couple of discipline steps happened. The last of which I'll implement after he wakes from nap. He's not allowed to play with Sojo and me while we play a fun game. People who bite others are not allowed to play with others (for a time). Let's see if this consequence makes a difference. No more hurting each other, please. I'm still reading in James (chapter 3) and it says don't live a bitter, jealous, or selfish lifestyle. It also says, don't try to pretend you don't have a problem when you do. So I'm coming to grips with the fact that me and the kids sin. I'm not angry at Whit for s...

What is Whitty doing in this picture? Saying please? Saying thank you for a new toy? No. He's confessing to a crime-- happily. Well, crime is a strong word. Actually, I had just asked, "Who threw all the felt toys onto the floor AGAIN?!" Whitty shouts, "Me!" as if he would get rewarded. It made me laugh. He was happy to help me clean up. I just love his innocence. What's wrong with making a mess, Mom? Well, as long as you're willing to clean up-- there  is  a time and a place for making a mess.

Go, Eagles!! Miss you, American football. Sojourner got to watch (well correction, be around a TV showing) rugby tonight. Hurray for the Rugby World Cup. But still, I'm missing watching American football. Micah looks up highlights online. Maybe I'll do that too... Now if only the Eagles will give us something worth watching. You can do it, boys!

If I'm being honest, I haven't written because I don't feel that I have anything to write. I also was feeling narcissistic about posting photos of my adorable children and talking about what we do in the day. But that's what this blog is-- a touch point for people who care about my adorable children and what I do in a day, no matter how boring or trivial. Soj at a beach resort (a visit, a treat, provided by my parents)   So I'm going to punch away at the keyboard again and post a picture or two, even though I'm feeling blue. My parents came for a wonderful visit. But I still have some unprocessed emotions that the visit brought up. All in good time... I was reading in the book of James today (that's what I'm studying with my friends) and James says, " Dear brothers and sisters,   when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy."  So here it is: my opportunity for great joy. I don't want to miss out.

I had a realization today-- breakfast and preparing for our day takes twice as long now as it did a few months ago. With the new baby needing lots of attention and Whitaker trying to do more things by himself (and Soj spilling cereal and eggs!), we take over an hour to get up and going. At first, I was not okay with that. Today, I'm a little more okay. I don't like to think that I'm 'wasting' time and for me, going slow is wasting time. But I'm realizing that going slow is not wasting time, especially when it comes to caring for children. It's actually very considerate to the kids. And it's character building for me. That said, I won't be disappointed if we continue to improve our time each morning. :-) These are the hopes of my days.